Endgame OR is it?
by The Resurector of fallen
Summary: Odd's nightmares continue as final battle with XANA approaches. Aelita is still trying to sort out her feelings while avoiding hurting boys she loves. Yumi and Ulrich are just being themselves. And Jason finally got himself a job. But when new student enroll at Kadic what will it bring to the group and the entire academy.
1. Chapter 1

**It's time to keep going with this mini series. I personally enjoy this and I didn't expect I would get far but we are still here. As you will see in this chapter, I'm going to introduce another character that will play the big role in a long run. We will see how it goes. Enjoy.**

_Nightmare_

_Same thing repeated over and over again every night during last two weeks. He was levitating in the air watching what was happening in front of him. Pink haired girl being down on her knee, mantas attacking glowing sphere, voice from the sky telling pink haired girl to launch the program but every time she was unable to do so. Every time sphere got destroyed. Every time evil laugh spread across the sector. And every time he was unable to prevent that from happening. He was well aware that he was dreaming so he stopped trying to do anything and decided to see if there is anything to do in order to avoid it. Nothing came to mind. Once again he appeared in destroyed city. Same city, same place, same events. Same execution. Four teens tied to the metal poles. Dark creature sitting on his throne while crowd of people watched the sight in front of them. XANA won and he had William standing by his side. William and XANA. They came up victorious from this war. Warriors lost. And now world was under their control. But this time something was different. XANA didn't execute them. It seemed like they were waiting for something. Or someone._

"_Sorry if I kept you waiting" female voice said coming from the behind the stage. She stepped on the stage and looked at the crowd. She was wearing some kind of black coat that had a hood on it and it covered her head. She was also wearing pair of black boots. "I had to take care of some things in the area._

_XANA turned around to meet the newcomer "We were waiting for you my queen. Will you do the honor?". XANA offered her the torch that was lit with some strange black flames but she looked past him. Directly at the spectator of this whole thing. "I will" she said to XANA "But I need to do something first"._

_He couldn't move any part of his body. She saw him. She actually saw him. He looked at the stage again but she wasn't there anymore. It was like she disappeared. But suddenly he heard someone breathing behind him and he turned around. And there she was. Right behind him. That person didn't seem familiar but no matter what he will remember her eyes. They were cold. Full of pure evil. And that evil smirk. It sent chills down his spine._

"_Shhhhh" she said with the same smirk and pressed her finger on her lips. He wanted to ask her who is she and what is she doing with XANA but was unable to do so. She grinned again before kicking him of the building. After being kicked of the building he looked up at her again and saw that she was still pressing her finger on her lips "Shhhh"._

_It was the last thing he heard before falling in darkness again._

_End of nightmare_

Odd woke up and immediately sat up while trying to catch his breath. Like every time he was covered with cold sweat but unlike other times this time it was covered in it even more. He swallowed his saliva and looked at his roommate.

Aelita was sleeping peacefully on her bad. No matter how bad his nightmares were she never woke up because of him. He lay back down and consulted his friend.

'_Franz?' _Odd called out for him _'You there?'._

He heard a chuckle in his mind _ 'Do I still need to you remind you son? I'm in your head'. _Franz couldn't believe how many times he needed to remind Odd of that. _'What's on your mind today?'._

'_That girl from my dream. She wasn't there before was she?' _Odd asked him with a sigh '_She probably wasn't. What do you think that means?'. _The fact of XANA having an ally really worried him.

'_I'm not sure to be honest. We never saw her before so that means she is probably just some stranger' _Franz answered him but he was still thinking about other possibilities _'Or we are still going to meet her in the future'. _

Odd though about that and it made sense. At least a little. '_Okay Franz, thank you'._

'_Anyways, how is that program going?' _Franz asked him to change the topic. Odd chuckled at this and Franz realized that he forgot the same thing Odd did earlier_ 'Right, I forgot'._

Odd kept looking at the ceiling_ 'What about Anthea? How is she doing?'._

'_What can I say? As the time comes closer she is getting more and more worried because-' _he was unable to finish his though.

'_Because she is afraid of price we will need to pay. I know' _Odd finished for him_ 'I'm afraid too, don't get me wrong but-'._

'_But you know it needs to be done' _Franz told him and sighted_ 'Listen son. I will need you to stay by their side after this is done. Since I won't be able to do so'._

'_You know I will be there for them. I promised you that years ago' _Odd said and remembered that day when he got caught in this mess _'We had great time during those 3 years Franz. Didn't we?'._

'_Of course we did son' _Franz reassured him_ 'You know, this might sound strange, but you became like son to me during that time. And I'm really sorry because I won't be there with you anymore after we are done'._

'_I know Franz, I know. Thank you for being there during those times. I really mean that. Aelita is really happy to have you as a father and-'. _

"Odd?" he heard Aelita calling him and he turned his head towards her.

"Good morning princess" he told her with a smile "Did I wake you up?".

She shook her head and returned the smile "Nope, you didn't. Is everything alright?".

"Everything is okay" Odd reassured her "I was just thinking about stuff". He still didn't feel comfortable with telling her about her father and luckily for him she didn't ask him about 'his little friend inside his head'. "Everything okay with you princess?".

She thought about it. There was one thing but she didn't want to talk about it. Well not right now at least "Y- Yeah, everything is great. Perfect".

He nodded and got up "That's good to hear. Anyways I was planning on going to the recreation room with Yumi, Ulrich and Jeremy after breakfast. Wanna come with us?".

"Sure" she nodded in agreement "I don't have anything else to do since we got few days without schoolwork". She got up from her bed and walked towards the closet and picked up her showering supplies "I'm going to take a shower first".

"I would gladly take a shower too but since our good friend Jimbo messed something up there is no water in boys shower room. He raised his arm and smelled his armpit "Ugh, I'm starting to smell bad. I hope Jimbo fixes that until tonight". Aelita nodded and walked out of the room.

Now that he was alone he could peacefully continue his conversation with Franz. '_Where was I? Oh right. Does Anthea have any idea if she could work anywhere after we bring her here?'._

Franz was quiet for few moments before answering_ 'She doesn't know if she will be able to live normal life again after being stuck here for such a long time. But if she could she would gladly work nearby where Aelita is. Do you know if someone is looking for employees around there?'._

'_Well I'm not sure to be honest' _Odd answered him honestly_ 'But I know we are lacking staff here on Kadic. Maybe she could work here. Closer to Aelita'._

Franz was puzzled_ 'You could do that for her?'._

'_We did it for Aelita didn't we?' _Odd said optimistically_ 'We will do it for Anthea too. She will get back on her feet as soon as possible'._

'_I will talk to her about that. Thank you Odd' _Franz thanked him and went quiet.

'_Of course'._

Few minutes later Aelita returned from the shower and picked up her clothes to dress.

"I will wait for you outside while you dress up" Odd informed her and proceeded to walk away but Aelita stopped him.

"Odd wait" she said and blushed "You don't need to walk out every time I need to change my clothes. I just feel bad for sending you to wait in the hallway every day". She looked at him and noticed that his shoulder tensed a little. '_Did I say something wrong'._

"It's okay Aelita. I don't mind waiting outside" he told her as he turned towards her "Listen princess, I know that girls need some privacy while they are changing and I perfectly understand that. Actually, I respect that. So I'm still going to wait outside. See you in a minute princess". Odd walked out and leaned against the wall. '_What was all of that about. Did she- She wanted me to stay?'_ he thought to himself and immediately slapped himself '_Bad thoughts Odd, bad thoughts'._

After some time she walked outside.

"Ready to go princess?" he asked her and bowed to her. She chuckled at that and nodded "Come on than". They started walking out of the dorms and towards the cafeteria. While they were walking Aelita glanced few times at him. She wanted to talk to him about that night from two weeks ago but she never got a courage to do it. Once they arrived she tried to do it "Odd listen I-". But her stomach growled preventing her from doing so.

"I know I know, you are hungry" Odd told her with a smile "Let's go it first than we will talk later". They walked inside and saw others already being there and they were laughing at something. "Ulrich being a comedian again" Odd said and shook his head "He is stealing my job".

Two of them got their food and walked towards their table. "Hey guys" Odd greeted them as he sat down next to Ulrich "How is it going good buddy? Stealing my job again?".

Ulrich placed his hand on his chest and faked surprise "Oh my god Odd, I would never. You know that you are the only comedian here. And I'm just a moral support to the comedian". They laughed at that joke.

Odd grinned and shook his head "Whatever you say good buddy". He looked at Aelita just as she was giving Jeremy peck on the cheek.

"Good morning Aelita" Jeremy told her with a smile.

"Good morning Jeremy" she tried to return the smile "How are you?".

"Well I could use some more sleep but I will make it" he said and rubbed his eyes "And I wanted to talk to you about it".

Others leaned in to the center of the table "Okay Einstein, spill it".

Jeremy made dramatic silent moment "I think I finally found a way to bring William back". He saw that others wanted to interrupt him so he raised his hand to stop them "And that's not all. Two more things. I'm nearly finished with creating anti-xana program. And that program Odd and Jason worked on is nearly finished as well. You can proceed".

Loud cheering could be heard echoing through the entire cafeteria. Other students looked in their direction what possibly could cause such joy. Jim wanted to walk over and silence them but he didn't do it. They seemed really happy.

"You are awesome Einstein" Ulrich said and patted his shoulder.

"You are miracle maker Jeremy" Yumi said and and hugged him tightly.

Tears started appearing in Aelita's eyes "I- I can't believe it. I'm going to see my father again".

Odd looked at her with sad eyes '_If she only knew'._ He tried to place his hand on her shoulder but before he could do so she jumped at Jeremy hugging him tight.

"Thank you Jeremy" she whispered in his chest "Thank you so much". He returned the hug and kissed her forehead.

"Always Aelita. Always".

Without thinking what she is doing Aelita pushed away from his chest and looked him directly in the eyes. Next thing she knew was that she kissed him. For the first time in few weeks. It was passionate one, but not to passionate. After she was done she pulled away and looked at the ground while blushing "Sorry, I don't know what happened".

Jeremy took her hand and kissed it "Don't worry about it Aelita. You were just following your heart".

To their surprise whole cafeteria cheered up for them. Mister and miss Einstein finally did it. Everybody waited for it to happen for a long time. Loud whistle was heard coming right behind them and they turned around and saw Odd getting ready to whistle again. Next to him Yumi and Ulrich were clapping and shouting. Even tho he felt embarrassed Jeremy was smiling. Aelita was smiling too even tho her blush didn't go away. But she could still fell her heart hurt because of Odd. For a moment she totally forgot about him and about what she wanted to talk to him. He looked like he was happy for them. He was even cheering up for them as hard as he could. But she still felt bad for him.

Another clap was heard coming towards them as the voice said "Congratulation my friends! Congratulations!". They turned around and saw Jason walking towards them.

"Jason? What are you doing here?" they asked in union. He was the last person they expected to see right there right now.

"Well I just got myself a job here at Kadic" he told them and his smile grew wider "I'm now working as Jim's assistant. And now I will be able to cover you while you need to be somewhere else". He looked at Jeremy and Aelita and placed his hands on their shoulders "I'm really happy for you two. Good luck".

"Thank you Jason" both of them said at the same time and chuckled.

Jason looked at Odd and noticed something that others probably missed. Even tho it lasted only for a millisecond he noticed it in his eyes. Spark of sadness. He knew that Odd knows about their future but that still doesn't make it easier now.

'_I will talk to him later' _Jason though to himself and sighted_. _"Oh and by the way, mister Delmas said that new student is coming right here right now".

"New student?" Odd asked him.

"Yeah. Some girl from the States. Needed to move away from her city and now she is here" Jason explained and sighted "She lost both of her parents last year. Poor girl".

And as soon as he said that, Delmas walked inside the cafeteria followed by brunette girl behind him. She looked like she was the same size as Aelita, she was wearing orange jacket, red t-shirt, blue pants and black shoes.

"Students!" Delmas shouted to get everyone's attention "We have a new student with us today!". He turned towards her "Why don't you introduce yourself to everyone?".

Girl simply looked in front of her and at everybody and nodded "Hello. My name is Lila Mason. I'm coming here from United States. I really hope we will get along".

Whole cafeteria greeted her and walk to her and offered their help so she could fell just like she is at home. Everyone besides Odd.

Even tho he wanted to go and help her adapt to new surroundings and new people but there was something about her that sent chills down his spine. Like some dark aura was forming around her and he didn't like that at all. Jason noticed his behavior and walked towards him again.

"Something wrong Odd?" he asked him concerned since Odd only acted like this when he felt something was wrong.

"I don't know Jas" Odd answered him honestly "But something about this girl gives me chills. I don't like that". He hoped that Jason would notice it to but that didn't happen.

"She lost everything Odd" he told him "You just need to meet her better, that's all. Give it time".

Odd though about that but he still wasn't feeling okay with that. He can't trust her yet. Not completely at least.

**This is it for this chapter. I hope you enjoyed and until next time, peace out.**


	2. Charming their guys

**New chapter is up guys. Enjoy.**

Odd looked after other while they went to welcome that new girl Lila. She just arrived here and everyone's eyes were looking at her. Both boys and girls admired her. Everyone except him. She was giving him some strange vibes that made him shiver.

Since he already finished his meal he walked out of the cafeteria and walked towards the recreation room. While he was walking out he noticed Sissy sitting alone on the bench. That surprised him since he expected her to be with others admiring Lila. And that's not all. She seemed pretty sad. He decided to go and talk with her.

"Hey Sissy" he said with a smile and sat next to her. But she seemed like she haven't noticed him. She still sat quietly.

"Is everything okay?" he asked her worried and placed his hand on her shoulder. She jumped in surprise.

"Oh! Its just you Odd" she said with a sad smile "Sorry, I didn't see you coming". She sighted again and looked at the ground "I'm okay. I just have something on my mind that's all".

"Do you want to talk about it?" Odd asked her and looked at the ground "It's okay if you don't want to. I'm not going to pressure you".

Sissy looked up from the ground at him. She never actually saw this side of him. He really cared about her problem and he wanted to her. She was half expecting him to start and make some jokes but no. He was serious.

"Why aren't you with Ulrich and others?" she asked him while trying to avoid question. His eyes trailed of in the distance and he sighted.

"They are with that new Lila girl like everyone else I guess".

Sissy nodded "Yeah, everyone is like hypnotized by her". Than she looked at him again "Everyone besides you. Why?".

Odd looked at the sky and though about it for few moments "I'm not sure to be honest. There is simply something about her that pushes me away. Something strange".

"So you felt it too" Sissy noticed "I don't know what it is but I know that I don't trust her at all". She got up to her feet and looked at Odd "I better get going, I need to be alone right now. And Odd. Thank you for this conversation, I mean it".

He smiled at her "Of course. If you need someone to talk to you can count on me". She nodded and walked away towards the dorms. Now that he was all alone Odd finally went towards recreation room.

In the meantime cafeteria was being swarmed with questions. '_Do you have a nickname?', 'What's your favorite movie?', ' Do you have pets?', 'Are you interested in clothing?', 'Would you like to go and see movies with me?', 'Would you like to have amazing and breathtaking experience with me under moonlight tonight?', 'Shut up Nicholas!'. _

Ulrich and others seemed to like this new girl. Even tho she lost her parents she still managed to keep good mood. She basically enlightened whole cafeteria from the moment she stepped in. And whole school seemed to think the same thing.

"Hey Odd what do you think about her?" Ulrich asked his friend with a smile and when he didn't receive the answer he turned towards him and saw that he wasn't with them. Than he tapped Aelita on the shoulder "Hey princess, have you seen where Odd went?".

"Ulrich he is here with-" her voice trailed away as soon she noticed that Odd was gone "Where did he go?".

Yumi and Jeremy noticed that Ulrich and Aelita were looking around the cafeteria.

"What's wrong guys?" Yumi asked them.

"Odd isn't here" Ulrich simply answered "We can't see him".

They walked towards the windows and looked around the yard checking if Odd is around somewhere. And the saw him. Sitting on a bench. With Sissy.

"There he is" Jeremy pointed out and others looked in that direction. They were surprised with what they saw. Odd and Sissy talking to each other was something you don't see every day. "It seems like he is having good time".

Aelita was looking at the duo and she could feel her heart sinking. She didn't know why she felt like that but one idea came up on her mind. Maybe when she kissed Jeremy, special bond between her and Odd got broken so he decided to find someone else. It was the only thing that made sense.

They saw Sissy getting up and walking towards the dorms while Odd walked towards recreationroom. "Maybe we should join him" Jason suggested "It probably sucks to be left out alone". They agreed but they decided to stay where they were for few more minutes.

After they finished meeting with the new girl they went to the recreation room. Once they walked inside they saw Odd laying on the couch while watching TV and approached him.

"Odd?" Ulrich called out for him and got his attention.

"Oh hey" Odd said quickly and sat up "It's you guys. What's going on?".

"We were just worried about you Odd" Yumi said as she sat next to him "You left the cafeteria without saying a word".

"I'm okay" he responded quietly "It simply got overcrowded for my taste".

"Odd, you never minded if something got overcrowded" Jeremy reminded him "Why don't you simply tell us what's wrong".

"Nothing is wrong Einstein" Odd reassured him "I promise. Anyways since you are here what do you say about one table football game".

Others exchanged looks. "Come on guys" Odd pleaded to them "You can tell me about that new girl in meantime. It won't hurt".

"Fine" they groaned and followed him towards the table.

Odd stood at the one side of the table and looked at the others "Okay guys. Who is going to fail first?". Since they hesitated Odd decided to choose instead of them "Okay Yumes, you are on". And with that their little championship began.

While they were doing this they told Odd everything they heard about Lila at the cafeteria. And they were doing that with so much enthusiasm that Odd nearly believed them but not completely. There was something about her that couldn't make him believe all this. Everything about her sounded perfect. Too perfect.

This game went on for around 2 hours and they had a lot of fun. Quarter-finale, semi-finale and finally a finale. The final battle began between Ulrich and Odd. And from the very beginning it was pretty intense and with a lot of twists. Odd was the one that was winning at first, than tables turned around in Ulrich's favor that back to Odd's.

"Tell me something good buddy" Ulrich said "Earlier we saw you talking to Sissy. What was all that about?".

Odd glared at him noticing a bit of tease. "Sorry to disappoint you good buddy" Odd answered with a tease "But we were just talking about stuff, nothing important". He noticed Ulrich grinning really wide.

"Just talking huh?" his tease became obvious now "I will give you two few more weeks before your talks become more interesting". He chuckled at that thought. When they were younger Sissy and Odd were at each other's throats for most of the time and now seeing the talk with each other without any conflict is pretty strange.

"In your dreams" Odd answered and looked at him in a strange way with a grin "ULRICH DEAR!". He burst out laughing. Ulrich winced at the mention of the nickname he hated so much. Even others laughed at him.

"Very funny Odd" Ulrich said with a groan and focused back on his game. Few minutes later and game was over. No matter how hard he tried Ulrich still lost and final victory was still at Odd's hands.

"Let me hear O, let me hear D and let me hear another D" Odd shouted and stood proudly with his hands on his hips "And what does it makes? ODD!". Others laughed at him and congratulated him on his little victory.

"Nice game Odd" Yumi patted him on the shoulder "I see that your skills are still kicking. Good job".

"Yeah!" others said at the same time.

"Thank you, thank you" Odd said jokingly with a bow "You know that you can count on Odd the magnificent to be on a top of his game". And with that they laughed again. But suddenly someone else entered the room. It was that new girl. Lila.

"Oh, sorry" she said and looked at the ground "I didn't expect anyone to be here. I'm not interrupting you, am I?".

"Of course not Lila" Jason told here with a smile "Come on in. We were having great fun anyway". He looked at the others waiting for approval "Am I right guys?".

"We really did" Jeremy said and walked closer towards her "You could join us if you want". He noticed her smile a little.

"Thank you" she said and looked him in the eyes "You must be Jeremy. Mister Einstein if I'm not mistaken". That left Jeremy feeling surprised.

"You know who I am?" he asked her.

"Of course" Lila said with a smile "Who wouldn't know about the smartest kid at the school". She looked at the ground again and rubbed her arm "Um, would you mind helping me with my school projects from time to time?". She noticed Aelita crossing her arms in annoyance and smiled at that.

"Uh- Well- You see-" Jeremy stuttered for a second "I mean yeah. Sure. If you need my help". He saw her walking towards him.

"Thank you Jeremy" she said and hugged him really tight "You are awesome".

He blushed fiercely and swallowed "Y- Y- Yeah, I guess".

Lila let go of him and looked at Ulrich "And you are probably Ulrich Stern. You are good at the martial arts if I'm not mistaken?".

Ulrich rubbed his hair and smiled "Well, when you put it that way. I guess I am".

"That's really cool" Lila said happily and smiled wider "I practiced few martial arts a while ago. Would you mind helping me with getting back at it when you can?".

"Of course" Ulrich answered proudly "It will be my pleasure to help you". He was so focused on Lila that he missed Yumi getting angry. Lila walked forward and hugged him as well.

"You are so sweet" she told him with a smile "Thank you". She let go of him and than turned towards Odd.

"And you are probably famous Odd Della Robbia" she said and smiled widely "It's my honor to actually meet you. The guy most of the girls secretly talk about. And I must say you really are handsome".

Odd looked at her without saying anything. From the moment he saw he felt like she was releasing some kind of dark aura around herself and that feeling was confirmed now. She acted so sweet to his friends, almost too sweet. And also to mention that he saw how Aelita and Yumi reacted to this and also to know that this girl Lila also saw it but still decided to keep going made him feel sick.

Since he wasn't saying anything Lila decided to keep going "So I was wondering if you want to go and see a movie with me when you have free time?". She leaned in closer to him and placed her hand on his chest "If I'm being honest, if stories are true, I can't believe someone like you is alone. Someone so handsome".

Yumi and Aelita couldn't believe what's happening in front of them. Lila was successfully charming their guys. One moment she was kind and at the other she was doing this.

Odd simply shook his head and pushed her hand away "Sorry Lila, but I cannot take you upon your offer". He walked past her and lightly shoved her to the side with the shoulder but before he could leave she grabbed his arm.

"Are you sure?" she asked him in the sweetest tone of voice "We would have great time together. And you could probably help me with my skating techniques while we are at it".

Odd couldn't believe what is this girl doing. He already rejected her but she still tried to force herself upon him. He pulled his hand out of her grasp and turned around to face her "I already told you I'm not interested. I'm sorry". And with that he left the room.

Lila quietly growled after him but quickly turned around towards the others wearing fake smile "Your friend seems like he is a little nervous, I hope everything is okay with him".

"Don't worry about him Lila" Jeremy reassured her "He gets like this sometimes".

"Our Einstein is right" Ulrich said and walked next to her side "There is nothing to worry about". He wrapped his hand around her shoulders "Anyways, do you want us to show you around the town?".

"Of course" Lila said cheerfully "Only if that's okay with you".

"Of course it is" Jeremy said and walked next to her "By the way girls do you want to come with us as well?". He looked back at the girls and saw them looking at him and Ulrich with their arms crossed over their chest. And they looked pretty pissed.

"I don't think so Jeremy" Aelita said in angry tone of voice "I should probably go and help Odd with tomorrow's math test". With that she walked past him and shoved him to the side with her shoulder. Yumi was right behind her.

"Count me out as well Einstein" she said sternly "I need to go and help my mother with house cleaning". She shoved Ulrich to the side and walked outside the room.

"Did I say something wrong?" Lila asked them innocently "I don't want to cause you any problems".

Ulrich shook his head and sighted "Don't worry about it. It's nothing serious". Him and Jeremy walked Lila towards the door before remembering something. "Oh and Jas" he turned towards Jason "Can you cover for us if we come back a little later the approved?".

Jason answered with a nod and looked after three people leaving the room. Now that he was left alone Jason decided to call his friends and see what is he going to do about this situation.

**Well guys, this is it for this chapter. I apologize for taking so long, but personal life got in a way and there was nothing I could do about it. Anyways, I really hope you liked this part. Until next time, peace out.**


	3. How is this possible

**Chapter 3:**

"And right here" Ulrich pointed out towards the cinema "This is our favorite cinema. We come here whenever we have enough time. And of course if some good movie comes out that is". Him and Jeremy were showing Lila around the town for quite some time and it was already getting late.

"That's really nice" Lila said cheerfully and smiled "I will be definitely coming here if I want". She really enjoyed spending time with two boys. And she especially enjoyed how clueless both of them were. "Maybe we could go together".

"That sounds like good idea" Ulrich agreed and turned towards Jeremy "Am I right Jeremy?". But Jeremy didn't respond and he instead kept walking silently besides them. "Jeremy?".

"Yeah- Yeah- That would be great idea" Jeremy quickly stuttered "Sorry, I just spaced out for a second".

"Because of what your little girlfriend told you earlier?" Lila asked him sympathetic.

Jeremy nodded "Yeah. Maybe she was right about that". Suddenly he felt Lila softly touching his shoulder.

"And what if she isn't?" Lila asked him and leaned closer to him "She doesn't own you and has no reason to act like you can't do whatever you want". She leaned to his ear and softly whispered "You seem like a great guy Jeremy and you don't deserve what she is giving to you. If she doesn't think you are trustworthy enough she simply isn't worth of you. You deserve better than that". She pushed herself away from him and left her words to hang over them.

**2 hours earlier**

Aelita was walking around the town while trying to find something to distract herself from what happened earlier that day. Especially events from recreation room and what that new girl did. And besides she had nowhere else to go. Yumi went to her mother house to deal with her problem. She couldn't go to her room because Odd was in there and she wasn't ready to face him yet. She was feeling like there was some tension between them ever since that night and what happened at the breakfast today didn't make it easier. So instead she decided to go into town and do some shopping. It didn't help much but it was better than anything. One shop after another, hours passed and after buying barely anything she was getting back to Kadic. But on her way back Aelita saw someone she wanted to see the least. Ulrich, Jeremy and that new girl Lila.

Ulrich turned towards her and smiled "Oh hey Aelita. We didn't expect to see you here".

Without knowing why she became salty and aggressive towards them "I didn't expect to see you anywhere else either".

Ulrich was surprised and he wanted to ask her if everything was okay but Jeremy did it first.

"Uh, is everything okay Aelita?" he asked her concerned "You seem, well, kinda mad". Instead of her usual soft look he received angry glare.

"Oh, am I okay? Am I okay?" she faked surprise and kept glaring at him "Well that sounds funny when coming from you Jeremy".

"I don't think I understand you" he was really confused "What do you-".

"What I mean Jeremy is that we had planed whole day to be special but instead it turned out to be like this. And not to mention that ever since this- this- ice queen came to the school you two and the every other guy turned into bunch of donkeys that are running after her like she is like some kind of eight world wonder" she told him angrily and clenched her fists. She could feel like her voice is about to break.

"We are just showing her around the town Aelita. We are just being nice" Jeremy tried to calm her down but knowing her short fuse it didn't work.

"Oh, you are being nice?" she faked surprise once again and walked closer to him and poked his chest with her finger "Tell me Jeremy. Is spending time with some random girl more important than spending time with your friends? With me? Did- did what happened this morning mean anything to you?! Tell me Jeremy!".

Her anger had him stunned and he didn't know what to tell her. Of course that he enjoyed spending time with her and of course that what happened this morning meant to him. He wanted to tell her that, he really did but barely any words came out of his mouth "Aelita, I- I".

Tears started coming down Aelita's cheeks and she started walking away from them. "Forget it Jeremy" she said with her voice now broken and away from him while crying "Forget it".

**Present time**

Aelita barged inside her room and tossed bags that she had with her on the bed. She sat on the bed and brought her knees closer to her chest and finally released her tears that accumulated on her way back. And they streamed really hard like it was some kind of little waterfall. It helped her to shake away that feeling of broken heart. It still hurted like hell but letting it out made it a little more bearable.

"Shhh" she heard Odd's reassuring voice as he sat next to her and wrapped his hand around her shoulders and brings her closer to hug her "It's okay Princess, it's okay". He started rocking her back and fourth trying to calm her down. It hurted him to see her like this and he knew the least he could do now is to help her feel better.

"Odd" she tried to speak but the only thing she was able to do was to choke on her cries "I-".

"Don't speak Princess" he told her calmly and kept rocking her "Just rest now. It's okay". He held her in his arms while she cried on his chest and was getting his shirt soaked but he didn't mind it all. What mattered now was to make sure she is okay.

Aelita kept crying and sobbing for few more minutes before she suddenly felt really tired. After some time her sobs became quieter and quieter until they finally fell asleep. At the moment she felt peaceful.

She didn't know how long it passed but when she woke up Aelita noticed that it was already nighttime. She looked around and saw that she was in her room. While trying to remember what happened before she fell asleep she noticed that she was in her pajamas which was pretty strange. She didn't remember changing her clothes after coming back. Unless. Sudden though rushed to her brain and with that blood to her face and now she was blushing fiercely.

"Don't worry" Odd's voice brought her back to earth. She turned to her right and saw Odd getting up of the floor. Aelita was confused a little. It seamed like he was sleeping next to her bed. He looked at her and smiled "I wasn't looking I swear. Yumi was the one that did it".

"Okay Odd, I believe you" she told him and returned the smile "What happened? How did I get here?". She noticed his confused look on his face.

"You don't remember?".

"The last thing I remember is walking around the town buying some nice things" she told him honestly "After that everything is black".

Odd nodded in understatement "Well princess, there is nothing more I could tell you. I was simply laying here on my bed listening to my MP3 when suddenly you barged inside the room and tossed your things on the bed. And they are pretty nice things if I can say so. Anyways you started crying so I needed to comfort you. It took some time but you finally fell asleep. After that everything is history".

Aelita looked at the ground and sighted "Something probably hurted me really hard than. Odd?". He didn't respond but instead he touched her hand which made her blush to return "Did you stay with me the entire time?".

"I couldn't leave you alone, could I?" he told her and stood up "And besides I wasn't alone. Yumi was keeping me company". And he was right. When Aelita was asleep for some time Odd decided to call Yumi to come. And since than two of them were watching over Aelita in shifts so the other one could go to get some food. And of course Yumi was the one that changed Aelita in her pajamas.

Knock on the door was heard and Yumi came in.

"Hey guys" she said cheerfully "How are you feeling Lita?".

"I'm okay I guess. What about you Yumi, how are you? Ever since what happened today I was worried". Than it clicked inside her head. So this thing between Jeremy and Lila was probably the reason she was upset.

"I don't know what to feel Lita" Yumi answered honestly "I still didn't have a chance to talk with Ulrich about stuff. So yeah. But we will sort this out. Or at least I hope we will".

"What was that Yumi?" Odd asked her surprised "What do you mean if you are going to sort it out? Of course you will! I will be damned if that was not the case!". Girls could only chuckle at that.

"I don't know how can you be so optimistic about everything Odd" Yumi told him with a smile.

"Well my good Yumes" Odd said jokingly "It simply defines who I am". AS soon as he said that his phone began ringing and he looked to see who is calling him. It was Ulrich. "Yes Ulrich?". He could hear Ulrich sighting on the other side.

"Oh thank god Odd, listen" Ulrich said and whispered something to Jeremy "XANA is attacking us".

"What?!" Odd jumped in surprise and girls looked at him worried "What happened?".

"He is chasing us man. Him and couple of crabs. I'm not sure if we will be able to get to the factory. We need your help fast" Ulrich said.

"Factory? What factory?" Lila's voice was heard in the background.

"Is SHE with you?" Odd asked him surprised "How can you talk about our secret in front of her? What were you thinking?".

"Not the good time Odd" Ulrich said annoyed "Just get going and we will see if we can reach you. Go". Connection went down and Odd lowered his phone inside his pocket.

"What's going on?" Yumi asked him.

"XANA is attacking" Odd informed them "And he is going after Ulrich and Jeremy. We need to get to the factory. Fast". He ran outside the room and girls followed him.

"We need to call Jason too" Yumi suggested while running "We need everyone we can get".

"Yumi is right" Aelita agreed and pulled out her phone. Few seconds later Jason answered and she sighted "Jason, are you sleeping? Good. XANA is attacking and we need you there. Okay, we- What?". She stooped in her tracks and looked at Odd and Yumi. They noticed worry on her face "What do you mean be carefull? Yeah I guess he left few monsters to guard the entrance and- I don't understand. Okay, see you there". She lowered her phone down.

"What was that about?" Yumi asked her confused.

"I'm not sure" Aelita responded "He said something about being surprised by something or someone. I couldn't understand him clearly".

"What if he was talking about William?" Yumi suggested.

"Well whatever it is we won't know until we get there" Odd said and turned towards the exit "Come on".

Few minutes later they were at the bridge and what they saw there had them stunned. Bunch of destroyed crabs laying on the ground with their legs cut off. If that wasn't creepy than they didn't know what is.

"What happened here?" Yumi asked surprised "Who could do such a thing?".

Odd looked around expecting to see William lurking in the shadows but he didn't see him. Actually there was no trace of him. He noticed metal bar laying on the ground and picked it up.

"Whatever happened, it was bad" he said and walked towards the entrance "Be ready for anything. It wouldn't be the first time XANA did something like this".

Trio walked inside and slid down the ropes. Down at the hall 5 more crabs were destroyed and were laying on the ground with their legs cut off.

"Oh my god" Aelita whispered "I never expected to say this, but this is horrible. Even for XANA".

"Try not to think about it Lita" Yumi reassured her "Come on, we are nearly there". Now they were almost inside the elevator. But before they could get inside someone's voice stopped them.

"Well, well, well" voice said "You finally arrived. And I was getting worried that you might not show up". Mysterious person jumped down from a top of the elevator and yawned "Ugh, that roof is really hard to sleep on. You need to change that. If you survive that is".

"Who are you?" Yumi asked and backed few steps away "What do you want?".

"My, oh my. Aren't we a little rude" person said and chuckled. There was something evil in that chuckle "Didn't your parents teach you any manners?".

"Don't talk about my family" Yumi warned her "I will ask you one last time. WHO. ARE. YOU?".

They could see that person slowly pressing her finger against her lips "Shhh. Being rude again I see". She said that in such a creepy way that it sent chills down their spine "Now now if you really need to know. Call me Queen".

To girls that didn't mean anything but to Odd… He knew who she was. His nightmare coming true.

"What is it Odd?" Queen asked him mockingly "You look like you have seen your nightmare coming true".

**I'm truly sorry for posting this after a long time but I couldn't do it sooner because of current situation. Anyways I hope you are staying safe and sound. See you around then.**


	4. Parable of the Lady

`"Odd?" Yumi looked at him confused "What is she talking about?".

"He didn't tell you?" Queen faked surprise "How could he not?".

"Get out of here" Odd told them and noticed metal pipe laying on the ground and picked it up "Go". Girls exchanged confused looks deciding to put Queen's previous comment aside and slowly backed away towards the elevator.

"Eh" Queen shrugged and looked at the girls "You can leave. I just need Odd here. Go on little fish, run away".

They looked at Odd and he nodded "I will be okay". Girls walked inside the elevator and went down to the lab.

Odd turned back towards Queen and was surprised when he saw her right in front of him. She kicked him straight in the stomach and sent him flying few meters away.

"Never let your guard down Odd" she mocked him as she removed her hood revealing her identity "Rule number one of your son's group".

He flinched at that "How? How do you-".

"Know about your son? Well you see little man, I know a lot about everything that's going on. Maybe that's the reason I allowed your little girlfriend and your friend to get away. They will be gone anyway even without my help".

Odd scanned her face and realization hit him like a truck. Those cold eyes.

"Lila" he whispered slowly and heard her chuckle at that.

"Ding ding ding" she said and clapped "Good answer Odd! You see what you can do when you use your brain".

"But how?" he questioned "Why would you team up with XANA, you are one of us".

She laughed at that "Oh you are so naïve Odd. I'm not working for that miserable guy. In fact I don't work for anyone. I work for myself and myself alone". She paced around in front of him "You see, XANA is so pathetic. He wouldn't be anything without my help. So as soon as we destroy your son's little group, he is next on my list. And than whole world will be mine".

"You are crazy" Odd growled at her "You destroyed the entire countries just so you can rule the world. What kind of man are you huh?". She didn't respond to that. Instead she decided to torture him a little more.

"Did they tell you how she died?".

Odd flinched at that. He didn't want to remember that and hearing about that again.

"It was an accident" he whispered.

Queen chuckled at that "Yeah, maybe. But allow me to tell you one story so you will get better understanding. Let's call it, um, parable of the lady". She cleared her throat and made dramatic pause.

"Lady was happily married for few months now and few days ago she discovered beautiful news, she was pregnant. Again. She couldn't wait to tell her Prince about that. And of course as soon as he arrived she jumped at him and told him. He was so happy about that. More that anyone could imagine. And from that moment he swore that he would be there for her. He kept that promise, for a while that is. Whenever she had morning sickness he was there for her, whenever she needed something to eat no matter how strange it sounded or when she needed it he was there, whenever she found it hard to move because of the baby he was there to help her up. For nine whole months. But than that day came. She went into labor at the hospital and was needed to be taken to the surgery room. She looked around for her Prince but he was nowhere to be found. 'Where is he?' she asked her friends and she was scared 'Where is my Prince? I need him, I can't do this without him'. But he still didn't come. She went to the surgery room still wondering where her Prince could be. One time she needed him the most and he wasn't there". She made another pause and looked at Odd. His face was pale and his eyes were full of disbelief. "In the meantime he was stuck at the work and his phone was off. He knew that time would come this week but wasn't able to keep his phone off. As soon as meet ended he turned his phone on and saw that he had dozens of voice messages. 'It's time, come to the hospital', 'She went into surgery room, where are you' were one of them. He rushed there in a heartbeat. As soon as he arrived at the hospital Prince went to the surgery room. Outside of the room he saw her mother crying as her husband hugged her and cried as well. His friend were there too and they were sitting and stared at the ground. 'What happened' he asked them when he got to them. Lady's father looked at him with tears in his eyes 'She is gone son, she is gone'. She passed away alone wondering where her Prince was when she needed him the most".

"N-no" Odd stuttered and shook his head in disbelief "I- I would never-".

"Well you still did" Queen mocked him again "You claimed that you care about her, but still you weren't there. What are you going to do about that huh?".

"Shut up" he whispered and looked at the ground shocked "Stop it, please". He missed to notice her pulling her sabre out from her back.

"You are weak Odd" she said and tossed the sabre at him. But before it could hit him another sabre collided with hers.

"Don't listen to her!" two voices shouted as they slided down the ropes and ran in front of him. One of them knelt in front of him.

"Snap out of it" man said and shook him slowly "Look at me".

Odd raised his head and looked at his savior. His eyes went wide.

"Connor?" he whispered slowly unsure if it was really him "I'm so sorry, if it wasn't for me she-".

"She is lying to you dad" Connor reassured him "Don't listen to her, she is lying as soon as she opens her mouth".

"This is beautiful" Queen said sarcastically "Little family reunion".

"Get down there Odd" Jason said and picked up Connor's sabre "They need you on Lyoko".

"He is right dad" Connor said and helped him to get to elevator and called it back. Once it arrived Connor leaned him against the wall inside the elevator and pressed the button. He got out and looked at his father again "We got this don't worry". As soon as Odd was gone Connor turned towards Queen "This is between us now". She smirked as she pulled her second sabre and rushed at them.

"We need to get going Aelita" Yumi said as she looked at the computer. Virtualization process was ready to go "I'm not sure if others will be able to come".

"Yeah, but maybe Odd-" she wasn't able to finish her sentence before elevator door opened. They saw Odd stumble inside the room with empty look in his eyes.

"Odd!" both girls gasped and rushed to his side "What happened? Are you okay?".

He gulped and sighted.

"I'm okay" his voice was shaky "Don't we have a mission to do?". His eyes darted around the room once again "Let's go".

"I will launch the process" Yumi said and ran back towards the computer "you two go to the scanners, I will join you in a moment". Two of them nodded and walked inside the elevator and went down.

Aelita took quick glance at Odd and noticed how pale and afraid he was.

"What did she do to you?" Aelita wondered to herself and sighted. Door opened and they walked inside the scanners. Yumi got down the ladder and walked inside her scanner.

"You guys ready?" she asked. After receiving nods as the answer scanner doors closed and three of them were virtualized once again.


End file.
